You Fill In The Conclusion

Johan Santana is being given an extra day of rest, but as of now, just one.

R.A. Dickey is pitching on short rest Wednesday.

Chris Young, who was expected to need at least another rehab start, is coming back early to pitch on Tuesday.

The backup plan for these starters is Jeremy Hefner and Miguel Batista, the latter of whom is expected back from the D.L. on Tuesday.

Jeff Francis was just released by the Cincinnati Reds, who had no spot in their rotation for him.

Time to put a little of that Bill Maher money somewhere other than debt obligations. It wouldn’t take much of it to land Francis, either, who is no silver bullet, but a clear upgrade in rotation depth for the organization.

If it isn’t obvious by now that this team both needs and deserves some reinforcements, the Mets aren’t paying attention. And you know that isn’t true for Sandy Alderson’s crew. As for Francis, he isn’t likely to find a better fit in terms of a chance to break into a rotation.

Would Roy Oswalt have been better? Sure. But let’s see some Jeff Francis, so the backup plan for Chris Young, who has managed four starts in each of the past two seasons, isn’t wondering what to do next.

Howard Megdal is the Lead Writer for the LoHud Mets Blog and Writer At Large for Capital New York. He covers baseball, basketball, and soccer for these and numerous other publications. His new book, "Wilpon's Folly," is available as an e-book at Amazon.com and Barnes and Noble. Follow the LoHud Mets Blog on Twitter @lohudmets. Follow Howard on Twitter @HowardMegdal.